Posted on 08/28/2004 12:48:54 AM PDT by ambrose
Barnes says he's ashamed for getting Bush into Texas Guard
Associated Press
AUSTIN - In a video posted on the Internet, former Democratic Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes said he is ashamed that he helped President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 so they could avoid serving in Vietnam.
"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was lieutenant governor of Texas, and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it," Barnes said in the 45-second video, which was recorded May 27 at a meeting for John Kerry supporters in Austin.
Barnes, who actually was Texas House speaker when Bush entered the Guard, said he became ashamed after walking through the Vietnam Memorial and looking at the names of people who died.
"I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas," Barnes said.
President Bush has denied that family influence got him into the Guard.
"It is no surprise that a partisan Democrat is making these statements," Bush spokeswoman Claire Buchan told the Houston Chronicle. "This was addressed five years ago, and there's nothing new."
According to the New York Times, the video was posted June 25 on the Web site Austin4Kerry.com. It didn't get much attention until Friday, when Jim Moore, an Austin-based author of books about Bush, sent out e-mail messages calling attention to it.
The clip was moved to another Web site - 69.59.167.160 - on Friday after the original site crashed from overuse.
"I got a lot of other people in the National Guard because I thought that's what people should do when you're in office: You help a lot of rich people," Barnes said.
It was the first time Barnes, a Kerry supporter, has discussed at length his role in getting Bush into the Guard. In 1999, he said he recommended Bush for a pilot's position at the request of a Bush family friend.
Another lying DemoRat... f unny how the Media never seems to mention these sort of things, eh? THey just breathlessly report the allegations.
Dear AP:
You might want to take a second look at your story on Ben Barnes and how he helped get Bush into the Air National Guard when he was Lt. Governor of Texas. It appears that Mr. Barnes didn't become Lt. Governor until 1969. In 1968, he was U.N. Representative to Geneva, Switzerland. Here's a link to a website of his biography:
http://www.klru.org/texasmonthlytalks/archives/barnes/bio.asp
I do expect a correction and maybe a job offer for doing the job your reporter didn't.
ROTFL! Booya! Excellent letter and perfect ending line!
1999 Article on Barnes:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/barnes092199.htm
Then he got run out of town for stuffing his pockets with cash from Sharpstown Bank. I'm sure he missed his position, he used it to full advantage as here in Austin he was known as, and I'm not making this up, the "fastest zipper in the west". Is is said by old timers that he made x-42 look like a piker.
But we own old Ben and his commie buddies a big old thanks, half the legislature got voted out over their pocket stuffing and Texas hasn't really been dim since.
This is more Kerry desperation. Next we'll see that GW is actually a serial killer...that's what he was doing when he was supposedly AWOL from his guard duties.
This is the real here and I'm positive it will be overlooked by the MSM because they can't even see what this guy said. Barnes has, inadvertently, blurted out the Democrat credo. Party of the little guy indeed!
LOL! You know your campaign is in trouble when you have to drag out old lechers to do your dirty work for you.
Thanks for the link.
What'd be fun would be to trot out 3 or 4 of good old Ben's ex-wives and have them report on his ability to tell the truth.....
Ouch!!!
anyway, I look forward to seeing the AP/MSM report that Barnes is full of crap, since he wasn't Lt. Gov. when W joined the Guard...
Barnes specifically said this went down while he was Lt. Gov.
GREAT POST.
FRIENDLY CORRECTION: Bush served 5.25 more years than Jean Francois al-Querrie.
Um. Wrong.
The only way you can claim a number like that (Bush served 5.25 years more than Kerry) is if you're -not- counting Kerry's time aboard the Gridley, etc., or Kerry's 9 years in the Reserve following 1970, ONLY Kerry's 4.5 months in Vietnam, while counting every last minute of Bush's service, including his mostly- off-time in Alabama.
Employing the same kind of wild and absurd double standards as the Democrats do is just going to make us lose credibility.
Qwinn
Old moldy story, refuted in 1999, and no ties that ANYONE in the BUSH family asked for anything. This jerk admitted that No One EVER contacted him on behalf of the Bush family. A nowhere man, going nowhere!
LLS
This man is a paid fool. There were many unwealthy men who joined the National Guard, Army/Air. As you said, President Bush earned his status as a pilot/wings. Unlike kerry who carefully plotted how he would flee Viet Nam ASAP. We see here, the demo-commie usage of the class-warfare issue. This election is the battle between, Good&Evil and Good will prevail. Kerry is a disgrace to America, and a traitorous self-serving communist. Bush/Cheney 2004
Wonder if this Barnes is related to the KC Barnes of the "anti-America" days when JFKerry was in KC after he wasn't.....
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